ntral figure is echoed in the flow of his robes and intrinsically related to the action of the running figures. The intensity of movement, which never detracts from the essential clarity of the composition, represents one of Carracci's primary departures from the calmer order of the High Renaissance, and it is an innovation that would be extremely influential throughout the Baroque era.
Bernini's classicism is similarly subordinated to his stylistic innovation. His David (1623) illustrates an interest in movement similar to Carracci's--almost an animation of High Renaissance art. But Bernini also attempts to draw the viewer into the orbit of the work--as Caravaggio did. The viewer who stands before Bernini's David finds herself in the path of the action that is just about to occur. Such representation of a single tense moment and the involvement of the spectator became prominent aspects of Baroque art.
Caravaggio's influence on the baroque was very strong but was somewhat diffuse in its effects. Many painters merely adapted certain of his stylistic traits and few adapted his naturalism to the same sort of intense devotional purposes for which Caravaggio used it. His sense of drama and clarity were, however, major contributions to the era. Carracci's influence was more direct as painters returned to the classicizing tendencies of the High Renaissance in his wake. The sense of order and stability, combined with freshly exuberant action was to become a hallmark of the Baroque. Bernini's influence was more problematic. Since he was the primary sculptor and architect for most of the reigns of eight successive popes his style was dominant at Rome during most of the seventeenth century. This had a somewhat inhibiting effect on sculptors--most of whom worked for Bernini at various times--and it was only in architecture that Bernini's rule met with significant challenges.
2. In order to develop as a separate genre landscap...